CARICOM MEETING TO COMBAT COMMUNICABLE DISEASES

September 19, 2007

A Caricom heads of government meeting was recently held.  The purpose of the meeting was to develop a coordinated strategy to combat Non Communicable Diseases.  Belize was represented by Minister of Health Jose Coye.  While at the regional meeting Belize signed a declaration.  Minister of Health Coye explained what the declaration deals with.  Hon. Jose Coye, Minister of Health:“The declaration in essence is identifying what are considered to be basically the non-communicable diseases,for example the heart disease,diabetes,cancer,hypertension,and it’s also sighting the behavioral risk factors,the biological risk factors,the environmental risk factors,and of coure the global influence on them.So when we look on our biological risk factors tha has to do with the high blood pressure,the cholesterol,the obesity,the high blood sugar.And then we have the behavioral risk factors,and that has to do with our physical activity,our unhealthy diet,tobacco use,alcohol abuse,and certainly those are the response that we want to address with these.We can address those or we can address the diseases.”   Based on that declaration and the meeting Coye said the Ministry of Health took the initiative to develop a national plan for Belize.   Hon. Jose Coye, Minister of Health:“But it is imperative for us at the national level,to develop our own national plan to combat the non-communicable diseases.We want to have a well integrated plan,not only to deal with the non-communicable diseases,this is what we are focusing on this morning,but to integrate it also with the communicable diseases,and to integrate it also with the various sectors within the government and inside the government.So essentially we meet here this morning wanting to look at the declaration to have it endorsed here,secondly to develop a plan of action to implement this strategy for the non-communicable diseases in our country.”  Coye said the hope to have the plan ready in a month’s time.  A draft of regulation and bills will then be made and eventually presented at the House of Representatives to be passed into law.

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